Backwards pricing · Margin first

Stop guessing your Etsy price. Solve for it.

Set your costs and the margin you want. The solver returns the listing price that still holds up after Etsy's fees, and after Offsite Ads.

Find my price
✓ Target-price solver✓ Offsite Ads stress test✓ Free, no signup

How do you calculate the right Etsy price?

Price = (your total costs + $0.45) ÷ (1 − 0.095 − your target margin). Etsy takes about 9.5% plus $0.45 before your costs, so the price has to cover your margin after that cut. Model 12% more if any orders come from Offsite Ads.

You actually keep
$0.00
0% margin
Listing fee$0.20
Transaction fee (6.5%)$0.00
Payment processing (3% + $0.25)$0.00
Offsite Ads (0%)$0.00
POD base + shipping cost$0.00
Total taken from the sale$0.00

Price it right the first time

To hit your 40% target margin, charge:

$0.00

What should I charge for a print-on-demand shirt?

Take the classic example: a Printify tee at $9.50 base plus $4.75 shipping costs you $14.25 per order. Etsy then takes 9.5% plus $0.45 of whatever you charge. The price required for each target margin:

Target marginRequired listing priceWith 12% Offsite Ads modeled
20%$20.85$25.13
30%$24.30$30.31
40%$29.11$38.18
50%$36.30$51.58

Read the table right to left: if Offsite Ads might bring the order, the ad-safe 30% price is already $30.31. That is why so many POD shops quietly lose money on ad orders: they priced for the 0% world.

Three pricing mistakes that quietly eat Etsy margins

1. Pricing from the sale, not the margin. "I sell it for $25, it costs me $14, so I make $11" ignores the $2.83 Etsy removes first. Real margin on that sale is 32.7%, not 44%.

2. Absorbing shipping without modeling it. Free shipping is a pricing decision, not a marketing one. The transaction fee applies to the total either way, so fold the average shipping cost into the item price deliberately.

3. Treating Offsite Ads as rare. Any order can carry the 12% to 15% surcharge with no warning in the order screen. If the 12% case breaks your price, your price is wrong, not the ads.

Pricing questions sellers actually ask

How do I calculate what to charge on Etsy?
Work backwards from the margin you want. Add your product cost and your provider's shipping, then divide by one minus Etsy's percentage fees (9.5%), minus your target margin. For a shirt costing $14.25 all-in with a 40% target: $14.70 divided by 0.505 gives about $29.11. The solver in the calculator above does this instantly and lets you stress-test the 12% Offsite Ads case.
What is a good profit margin for Etsy sellers?
30% to 50% after all fees and costs is the range that survives bad months. Below 20%, a single refund, an Offsite Ads order, or a supplier price increase turns the sale negative. Handmade sellers with low material costs often run 50% and up; POD sellers sit lower because the provider's base cost is fixed.
Should I offer free shipping or charge for it?
Etsy's search gives a boost to US listings with free shipping, and buyers anchor on the total price either way. Since the 6.5% transaction fee applies to shipping charges too, charging $5 shipping nets you about $4.50 after fees. Most sellers fold average shipping into the item price and mark shipping free; the calculator shows both scenarios if you toggle the shipping field.
Why do I lose money on some Etsy sales even with a profit on paper?
Usually one of three reasons: the order came through Offsite Ads (an extra 12% to 15% you did not model), the buyer paid a shipping rate higher than you estimated, or a refund or replacement ate the margin. Pricing at 30% to 50% margin absorbs all three. If your margin is 10%, one ad order can erase the profit on that sale.
Does raising my Etsy price hurt my sales?
Less than sellers fear. Etsy buyers comparison-shop less than Amazon buyers because most listings are differentiated by design and reviews, not by being the same commodity. A $2 to $3 increase on a $25 to $30 item typically costs fewer sales than the margin it recovers. Test on your best seller first: raise the price, watch conversion for two weeks, then decide.
How do Offsite Ads change the price I should charge?
If any of your orders come through Offsite Ads, price as if they all do. At the 12% rate, the required price for the same margin rises sharply: a $29.11 price at 40% margin becomes about $38.18 with Offsite Ads modeled in. Flip the toggle above to 12% and read the solver: that is your ad-proof price. Non-ad orders then earn extra margin instead of ad orders losing money.

Keep going

Etsy Profit CalculatorFees plus your POD costs: what you actually keep per sale.Etsy Fee CalculatorEvery Etsy fee on a sale, line by line, no product costs.Printify Profit CalculatorTrue profit with Printify base costs and shipping built in.Printful Profit CalculatorTrue profit with Printful base costs and shipping built in.